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“You don’t know what I’m about to ask of you.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’ve done a lot for me, so I’m up for whatever.”
I blink. Dahlia seems equally shocked as her gaze bounces between the two of us.
Ryder continues, “Before you hired me, I was struggling with returning to civilian life after my last tour. When I interviewed for the job, I was living out of my car and struggling with PTSD.”
I hide my flinch. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
Dahlia reaches out to give his hand a squeeze before she sinks back into her chair.
“You’re not the only proud man in town, boss,” he says with a small smile.
“No, but he is theproudest,” Dahlia says.
I shoot her a stern look.
Ryder’s soft laugh doesn’t match his harsh features. “I owe you a lot, so if you want my help, I’m more than happy to offer it.”
Dahlia’s bottom lip trembles.
Shit.
I battle between shyness and gratitude before landing somewhere in the middle. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“Do you want my help or not?” he asks.
“His asking is evidence enough.” The expression on Dahlia’s face is worth every ounce of pride I forfeit as I do the one thing I trained myself to avoid.
“Yeah, I want your help.” My shoulders loosen as the tension drains from my body.
“Tell me what you need.”
“Between us, something came up that requires me to move next month, so I need to restructure the company in a way that allows it to operate without me being present.”
His brows rise while Dahlia’s scrunch.
“You’re moving?” Ryder asks.
“Yes. Even though I’ll attend meetings virtually and fly back every two weeks to physically check on everything, I need your help with the day-to-day operations and keeping an eye on things.”
Dahlia’s lips part.
Ryder nods. “Of course.”
“Great. Here’s what I was thinking…” I review my idea with Ryder while Dahlia watches. He gives his input and offers plenty of useful advice, and I adjust my plan based on his expertise. Dahlia gives a few pointers I take into consideration.
After an hour of restructuring Lopez Luxury’s operations, Ryder stands and claps me on the back. “I never thought I’d see the day you finally decided to do what was best for you rather than the company.” He glances over at Dahlia. “And I probably have you to thank for the promotion and raise.”
Her cheeks are tinged a soft shade of pink. “I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“Right.” Ryder nods.
Stubborn, I mouth.
Ryder gives me a thumbs-up.
We both know Dahlia is the only person who could convince me to change the entire structure of my company, yet she won’t accept the possibility because it would only threaten her weak argument.
